Schools and bus drivers responsible for safety of pupils

Dubai/Fujairah/Abu Dhabi: The safety of children on school buses has become a top concern among parents of schoolgoers after a five-year-old girl died last week after being hit by a bus.

It was not the first accident involving pupils this year. Last month, two schoolgirls in Ras Al Khaimah died two weeks after they were hit by a car while crossing the road.

The Ministry of Education does its part to protect pupils and requires school buses to have a supervisor on board to ensure there are no pupils nearby when the vehicle moves.

In a recent poll, 62 per cent of respondents said they did not think school buses were safe.

City Talk took to the streets and asked residents whether they thought children were safe on school buses, if bus drivers needed more training, and whether schools should be held responsible for school bus accidents.

Jason Dangasan, a Filipino IT worker, 27, said: "School bus drivers must be given specific training to avoid such mishaps. It is the responsibility of the schools to ensure this and choose the best people because otherwise they may be jeopardising the lives of innocent children. Traffic on the roads is increasing by the hour and roads are getting more and more congested ... educating drivers to be safe is the only solution."

Arti Munshi, an Indian teacher, 37, said: "The security of children is a vital issue and slight negligence can come with a hefty price. So it is the collective responsibility of the parents and schools. When a parent entrusts his or her child at a school not only does he or she expect good standard in education ... but also ... safety and well-being of their child. It is common for children to be dropped off unescorted. The times when children are picked up and dropped off are peak traffic hours and keeping this in mind, they should never be left alone. Drivers must be given specific training to handle children."

Yara Mohammad, a 25-year-old doctor from Egypt, said: "Schoolbus drivers definitely need more training. Not only should drivers be trained to be good on the roads but also about manners. In case an accident happens, I think the school should be responsible because they are the ones who hired the driver. But such incidents are rare in the UAE."

Farooq Ali Khan, an Indian driver, 35, said: "I do not think that bus drivers need more training because the majority are probably qualified enough. The children are safe in the hands of the bus drivers, but the problem occurs when they are in a rush .... If there is an accident, it would definitely be the responsibility of the bus driver."

Alain Sullaga, an engineer from the Philippines, 25, said: "Bus drivers definitely need more training because they can get careless at times, maybe because they are running to a tight schedule and have to get the children to school on times. Schools should definitely take responsibility if the bus gets into an accident because they are in charge of the children. Nobody really knows how safe the buses are for children."

Mohammad Idrees Mir, 54, a marketing manger from Pakistan, said: "I think there are some schoolbus drivers who tend to speed when driving but overall, I think the majority do respect the driving regulations of the country. Of course, it must be the schools which should take full responsibility for the safety of their buses and the discipline of the drivers on the road because ultimately they're the ones employing the drivers."

Khalid Izzat, 49, an Egyptian social worker, said: "There are drivers who drive in an unsafe manner, especially when they're not watched and think they can get away with it. I don't think the pupils are totally safe, especially since there is a lack of monitoring of the drivers. Some schools have a person on the bus to supervise the children but they should also be monitoring and assessing the driver."

Architect Kristian Penaflorida, 25, from the Philippines, said: "School bus drivers are always in a rush and tend to honk a lot ... I think that the bus drivers should be responsible when an accident happens, and they should be more careful when driving."

Hasan Al Magribi, 37, an Egyptian accountant, said: "I think that drivers are always in a hurry; sometimes the child's foot is barely on the ground and the driver is already on the move. When I help my son on the bus, I sometimes notice that the bus is already moving before my son has sat on his seat, which is dangerous.

"Other times I notice that instead of taking a roundabout or U-turn, a bus driver parks the bus across the road from the house of the child and waits for him to cross the road on his own, putting the child in grave danger."